Does Chicago dislike downstaters? (Springfield, Schaumburg: homes, college, subdivisions)

[j33]

Personally, I don't care if someone says they are from Chicago or a suburb of Chicago when traveling. Nobody in Idaho is going to know where Burbank is, so why be overly pedantic about it. And no, if you live in the burbs you don't technically live in Chicago, your town has its own name, but I can't get overly excited about the city/burb delineation, and it seems the longer I live in the city proper, I care even less.

[chitown68]

It is natural for a person to care about the community or city where they live at. When I attended the U of I downstate, I paid far more attention to what was going on there than I did in Chicago. When I returned to Chicago, my attention returned back to the city.The only time I pay attention to downstate is when something happens there that is newsworthy like the budgetary fiasco in Springfield.

[AnimalLover]

To each his own. I'm right in the middle of the state, on the corner of corn and beans. There isn't enough money in the world to get me to live in Chicago or a burb. I'll stay here on my acreage, with my horses, no traffic, a $4800 property tax bill on a large, new home and a 10 minute commute to just about anywhere I need to go. We have rush minutes, not rush hour. I can be in Chicago in 3 hours, St Louis in less than 2, then come back here to watch deer in the yard. Nice places to visit, but I'd never want to live there. I do think most people from Chicago think the rest of us our hicks, but then we don't care, so it doesn't matter.

[GT28107]

Originally Posted by Tree415

Does Chicago even take a time to think about downstate?

mmm, not really.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by AnimalLover

To each his own. I'm right in the middle of the state, on the corner of corn and beans. There isn't enough money in the world to get me to live in Chicago or a burb. I'll stay here on my acreage, with my horses, no traffic, a $4800 property tax bill on a large, new home and a 10 minute commute to just about anywhere I need to go. We have rush minutes, not rush hour. I can be in Chicago in 3 hours, St Louis in less than 2, then come back here to watch deer in the yard. Nice places to visit, but I'd never want to live there. I do think most people from Chicago think the rest of us our hicks, but then we don't care, so it doesn't matter.

I lived in Sycamore, IL, about 20 minutes west of St. Charles, and had deer and wild turkey in my yard, as well as coyotes. Not all of the area up here is congested. Just thought Id pound that fact home.

[Manigault]

I live in Chicago. Lately, I've really been impressed with the state parks and what the state spends on outdoor recreation. However, in my backyard in Chicago I have rabbits, raccoons and the occasional possum. I can show a person beaver marks on trees which are walking distance from my house or across the street from my downtown office. On Tuesday, I caught a four pound carp in the Chicago River about six feet from my office building at around 6:30 pm, while being watched by a heron. Although I've only once been fishing at lunchtime, I am sure I could do it three or four times a week if I tried.

All this is to say that there is a lot more natural life in the downtown areas than people suspect. Chicagoans as a rule are not that much involved with the rest of the state (doesn't 75% of the population live above route 80?) because their attention is drawn closer to home. Its not a question of antipathy -- its attention. Probably many downstaters don't give a hoot if a historic restaurant in Chicago is torn down for condos or not. I don't blame them -- its really doesn't involve them.

[j33]

Manigult -- I learned how to canoe last summer in the chicago river, I would have liked to have learned in a more idyllic setting, but that was the only place the 'el' would take me, so I had to make due (we were very careful not to tip the boat) and I saw all sorts fish swimming around in that thing (as well as a few other things).

The rabbit situation though is getting out of control, there are far too many of them running around this joint. The Tribune had a funny article on the situation last week.

[Steve-o]

Seems like a few coyotes are also downtown, Ive seen it in the news and in the Trib.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I lived in Sycamore, IL, about 20 minutes west of St. Charles, and had deer and wild turkey in my yard, as well as coyotes. Not all of the area up here is congested. Just thought Id pound that fact home.

Yeah, but Steve, you live in Sycamore -- that's not really Chicago. That even beyond the usual suburbs.

And while I don't doubt that you all have seen wildlife in downtown Chicago, let's not forget that old saying: "One swallow does not a summer make". Chicago (the city, not the outlying suburbs an hour away) is not really a "nature" place. Let's not kid ourselves.

Disclaimer: I love Chicago -- lived downtown for 3 years and go back every other month to visit family.

Now back to your regularly scheduled bickering about Chicago versus downstate IL...

[j33]

Oh, I certainly agree, I've lived in Chicago proper for over eleven years and I have family that live out in the outer burbs (or 'the woods', as I like to say) and they have a degree of access to nature that I'll never get (especially in my neighborhood that is so close to the LOOP). I like to go out and visit and see the deer that sometimes come around, and even once a wild turkey.